DEATH WISH COFFEE
The Company
Death Wish Coffee (DWC) known as “The World’s Strongest Coffee” has acquired a loyal following of over 200,000 customers since its inception in 2012.
After a breakthrough moment in 2013 on “Good Morning America” they were unable to meet demands and their business suffered. Owner Mike Brown explained it as,
“After thirty days of basking in the glow, everything fell apart. We couldn’t keep up with demand and ended up three to four weeks behind on all new orders. People started complaining … everywhere: emails, phone calls, and especially online. They called us a ‘scam.’ We’d been number one on Amazon, then they shut down our account completely. Our second biggest outlet, Ebay, even dropped a lifetime ban on our company. It was a nightmare.”
In 2014, DWC partnered with National Fulfillment Services (NFS) in an attempt to grow their business, quicken order turnaround times and thus improve customer satisfaction.
“We read their reviews, current customer testimonials, and exhaustively analyzed their terms and financials. We contacted their past customers directly, both the references they gave us as well as a few we looked up on our own. We visited the facility in person. We met with their leadership one-on-one. We asked question after question after question.
We did all of that because we knew we were entrusting our business to these people and we didn’t even want to experience what we’d gone through before. It’s painful to watch as people who paid for your product can’t get it.”
The Challenge
Upon winning Intuit QuickBooks’s “Small Business Big Game” grand prize in 2016 and garnering national media attention, orders grew more than 550%. In anticipation of unprecedented sales on Superbowl Sunday, Death Wish needed an enhanced fulfillment strategy that could handle up to 70,000 daily shipments, incoming calls, customer service overflow and bundle preparation.
The Solution
National Fulfillment Services sprang into action setting up the logistics to enable Death Wish to fulfill thousands of orders while maintaining the high service levels their customers had become accustomed to. To meet the demand, NFS increased its warehouse labor force by 61% and trained designated Contact Center Agents on brand specific knowledge, order processing and commonly asked questions. Employees were scheduled in multiple shifts for around-the-clock support.
Additionally, NFS strategically arranged production lines and pre-assembled frequently ordered bundles to allow for optimal flow of orders. The team of Account Managers, Customer Service Representatives and Systems Analysts worked in tandem with DWC to build a customized logistics plan that could readily accommodate an influx of e-commerce orders.
The Results
24h
Processed & Shipped
880%
Growth Rate
#1
Best-Selling Coffee on Amazon
When the commercial aired, thousands of eager consumers flocked to the site to purchase coffee. With the warehouse and contact center primed for action, orders placed during the event were processed and shipped within 24 hours. By utilizing National Fulfillment Services ability to custom fit solutions, Death Wish Coffee was able to access a broad spectrum of services during a period of intense growth and has been able to sustain an 880% growth rate.
Today, Death Wish fluctuates between being the No. 1 and No. 2 best-selling coffee on Amazon, beating out Amazon’s own wholesalers. Their products can be found in select Targets, Hannaford Supermarkets and natural grocers.
